BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — One-time Republican candidate for New York governor Carl Paladino, whose published insults of former President Barack Obama provoked a public uproar, was removed from Buffalo's school board Thursday for improperly discussing teacher contract negotiations.State Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia announced her decision Thursday, a day after Paladino protesters disrupted the school board's latest meeting with calls for his ouster.The protests have been happening since December, when Paladino, who helped chair President Donald Trump's campaign in New York, told a local arts newspaper he wished Obama would die of mad cow disease. But it was a later article written by Paladino that led to his removal.

GOWANDA, N.Y. (AP) — A family hike in a western New York gorge turned tragic when a mother and father died after falling off a cliff and their 4-year-old son was seriously injured, authorities said.The bodies of Amanda Green, 35, and William Green, 33, both of Buffalo, were discovered along with their injured son Alexander in the Zoar Valley Gorge shortly before 1 p.m. Sunday, Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard said. Rescuers found the couple's 7-year-old son, Jacob, walking nearby.The 4-year-old was airlifted to a Buffalo hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. His brother was also taken to the hospital to be checked out for unspecified non-life-threatening injuries.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — After three defendants fatally overdosed in a single week last year, it became clear that Buffalo's ordinary drug treatment court was no match for the heroin and painkiller crisis.Funded with a three-year $300,000 U.S. Justice Department grant, the program began May 1 with the intent of treating 200 people in a year and providing a model that other heroin-wracked cities can replicate.[...] if that means coddling an individual who has a minor offense, who is not a career criminal, who's got a serious drug problem, then I'm guilty of coddling.Regular drug treatment courts that emerged in response to crack cocaine in the 1980s take people in after they've been arraigned and in some cases released.In addition to the Monday-through-Friday court dates, Woods attends daily outpatient counseling, submits to drug testing, works at his family paving business and, although they are not required, attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings.In April, the National Governors Association announced that eight states — Alaska, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington — will together study, among other things, how to expand treatment within the criminal justice system.The grant pays for the coordinator and case managers from UB Family Medicine, a University at Buffalo medical practice, who enforce curfews, do wellness checks and transport patients.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — A deadly, racially charged conflict in Charlottesville, Va., caused Anquan Boldin to re-assess his priorities and led to the Buffalo receiver’s decision to retire after 14 NFL seasons. In an interview Monday on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Boldin said he’s “uncomfortable” with how divided the nation is and wants to focus on humanitarian and criminal-justice causes. “I always felt like football would be my passion, football would be the path to a lot of things,” said Boldin, who played three of his 14 seasons with the 49ers (2013-15). “But just seeing the things that transpired over the last week or so, I think for me, there’s something bigger than football at this point.